When purchasing a conventional houseboat, the purchaser must select a houseboat with a configuration pre-determined by the manufacturer and with no direct input from the purchaser. In some instances, it may be desirable to allow a user to select a particular floorplan for a houseboat cabin assembly from a variety of floorplans, and thereafter connect the selected cabin assembly to a hull to form a houseboat.
Conventional houseboats must be transported over highways and other roadways which require permits and special trucking measures. It may also be desirable to build or manufacture the cabin assembly at a first location, manufacture the hull at a second location, and thereafter assemble the houseboat at a third location. The third location may be proximate the particular body of water where the user desires to use the houseboat. Conventional houseboats are assembled into one structure, and thereafter transported to a body of water and launched. In some instances, it may be desirable to allow the cabin assembly to be lowered onto the hull while the hull is situated on a trailer of a jacking system. The houseboat may thereafter be assembled by securing the cabin assembly to the hull, and forming the houseboat on the trailer. The trailer may then be moved to launch the houseboat into the desired body of water by either backing the trailer into the water or pivoting the trailer to slide the houseboat off and into the water.
Conventional pre-fabricated or pre-manufactured residential houses are not equipped for marine environments because these structures are constructed with residential grade materials. Inasmuch as houseboats encounter marine environments, it may be desirable to manufacture a pre-fabricated residential house using marine grade wiring and electrical components throughout the structure. This structure may then comprise a cabin assembly and allow a user to secure the cabin assembly to a hull to form a houseboat. Marine grade wiring and components provide the houseboat with significantly more resistance to adverse environmental conditions. Residential windows may provide for more cost-effectively manufacturing a houseboat.
Conventional houseboat hull designs are not conducive to receiving a pre-fabricated house thereon. Therefore, in some instances, it may be desirable to provide a peripheral receiving surface on the hull to mate with a similar surface on a pre-fabricated house configured to be used as a cabin assembly. The peripheral receiving surface may be stepped or sloped or have a horizontal step for receiving the cabin assembly combined with an angled step to wick and direct water away from the cabin assembly.
Conventional houseboats provide a flat and solid surface at the uppermost portion of the houseboat. This surface is applied with a chemical gel coat material, which typically requires replacement ever few years because of the intense weather exposure. This chemical gel coat material wears off over time and enters the marine environments where houseboats are typically stored and used, causing ecological damage. Further, this surface can become slippery to a user and may also retain water in divots or puddles formed in the horizontal surface of the decking. Therefore, in some instances, it may be desirable to provide a roof deck having horizontal boards disposed upon cross-members, similar to a residential backyard deck, where the cross-members are secured to the upper surface of the cabin assembly roof instead of posts in the ground. Inasmuch as the cabin assembly roof is peaked and sloped downward, such a configuration would allow rain water or spray to run between the horizontal boards, past the cross-members, and off the cabin assembly roof. The usage of horizontal boards eliminates the need to apply a chemical gel coat material on the uppermost surface of the houseboat. In some instances, composite decking or other residential decking may be used for the boards.
The drawings are not intended to be limiting in any way, and it is contemplated that various embodiments of the invention may be carried out in a variety of other ways, including those not necessarily depicted in the drawings. The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification illustrate several aspects of the present invention, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention; it being understood, however, that this invention is not limited to the precise arrangements shown.